


Dance With You

by bjfic_archivist



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: Canon, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-08-19
Updated: 2003-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-27 12:52:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12081432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bjfic_archivist/pseuds/bjfic_archivist
Summary: Two months after leaving him for Ethan, Justin gets a call from Brian who is looking for answers.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note from IrishCaelan, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Brian/Justin Fanfiction Archive](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Brian_Justin_Fanfiction_Archive). To preserve the archive, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in September 2017. I posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [The Brian/Justin Fanfiction Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/bjfic/profile).

Justin walked into the Liberty Diner, trying his hardest not to look for him. Brian Kinney. The phone message asking him to be there had been short and sweet. "Justin? Brian. Diner. Tonight. 8. We need to talk." So here he was, still following orders from his former lover.

"Hi, Sunshine!" Debbie squealed, seeing Justin standing awkwardly by the door. "We haven't seen you here in ages!" Justin had quit his job at the diner when he and Brian broke up, seeing his former lover on a regular basis would have been too hard.

"Hi, Deb." Justin's eyes darted around looking for Brian.

"He's not here, Sunshine."

"I'm supposed to meet him here." Justin said quietly, walking in and sitting down at the counter.

"Oh?" Debbie raised an eyebrow.

"He left a message on my cell." Justin shook his head. "I'm not sure why."

"You'll soon find out. Brian Kinney has arrived." Debbie turned and went into the kitchen. She was worried about what would happen when Brian and Justin first talked after the break up. 

It had been two months since Justin left Brian for Ethan Gold, a talented violin player, and it seemed like everything had gone through a time warp. It was like everything and everyone had gone back to the way they were before the blond boy had taken them by storm. After moving out of the loft, Justin had spoken to his father and talked him into paying for a place for him to live and his tuition for school. Their relationship was still rocky and certain wasn’t close, but Craig Taylor was trying. Brian had gone back to his old wicked ways. The tricking, drug use, and drinking was at an all time high, even more than after Justin got bashed. 

"Hi." Justin said when Brian walked up to him and looked him in the eye.

"Hey." Brian gestured for their regular booth and they sat down across from each other. "How've you been?"

"Not bad." Justin shrugged. "I'm going back to school in a couple of weeks."

"How's the hubby?"

"We, uh, aren't seeing each other anymore." Justin looked everywhere but at Brian's eyes. He knew that he would see confusion and hurt there, though the rest of Brian's face showed nothing but indifference.

"Oh yeah? When did that happen?"

"About a month ago." Again, Justin felt awful and avoided eye contact.

"What happened?" Brian acted amused having found out about the break up from Emmett only hours after it happened. But now, hearing it confirmed by Justin, he was aching to scream and thrash and accuse Justin of ruining what they had for something that didn't last. Instead, he resorted to sarcasm, "Not enough room in the relationship for two artistic prodigal sons?"

"We just weren’t right for each other.” Justin started tearing the napkin in front of him into little pieces.

“Do I make you nervous, Sunshine?” Brian couldn’t believe that he had called Justin by his nickname. He had first started calling Justin Sunshine after the bashing, because of the smile Justin had on his face after they danced. It had become something of a pet name, like “honey” or “sweetheart”.

“Why did you ask me… no, wait… Why did you tell me to come here?” Justin asked, finally looking Brian in the eye.

“I thought we should talk.”

“Is there anything to say?” Justin was getting angry, a result of feeling uncomfortable. His feelings for Brian were still as strong as always and he didn’t know what to do with them.

“Why did you stop going to the clubs? And here?” Brian asked, holding Justin’s angry stare. “Why did you cut yourself off from all of your friends?”

“I’m too busy to stay out and play with the boys all the time.” Justin replied, shrugging.

Brian winced at Justin’s shot at his lifestyle. “So you just gave up everything that you used to love? Your friends, Deb, me…” The last word, the telling one, ‘me’, was said quietly, betraying Brian’s pain.

“I needed more, Brian.” Justin said quietly. 

“So what do you have now that you didn’t have with me?” Brian’s demeanor was betraying more of his feelings than he would normally be comfortable with, but his therapist had told him to get closure.

“It’s not what I have, it’s what I don’t have. I don’t have to worry that my boyfriend doesn’t love me and that I’ll lose him. I don’t have to worry about pleasing someone else.” Justin said honestly. “I can be honest with myself and with other people around me without having to worry about saying the wrong thing. I can stay in if I want and I don’t have to worry about someone telling me I’m too young to settle down.”

“I see.” Brian stood. “Thank you, Justin.”

“You’re leaving?”

“You told me all I needed to know.”

“What if I want to know more?” Justin demanded, angry that it was still all about what Brian wanted and what Brian needed. Seeing Justin’s face, Brian sat back down.

“What do you want to know?” Brian asked calmly, the mask back on.

“Did you even care when I left?”

“What do you think?”

“Always answering a question with another question!” Justin exclaimed. “I don’t even know why I try!”

“Yes, I cared when you left.” Brian said softly. “If you think I didn’t, you don’t know me as well as you should.”

“Why didn’t you ask me not to go?”

“It’s your life. You don’t owe me anything.”

“I owe you everything! I owe you my life! I owe you for getting me back into school. I even owe you money, for Christ’s sake!” Justin let a few of the tears that had been building up in his eyes fall down his cheeks.

“None of those were any reason for you to stay with me. You may not realize this, but I want you to be happy.” Brian was starting to feel raw and wanted nothing more than to run from Justin, but he refused to do that.

“If you wanted that so much you would have had a picnic with me on the floor. If my happiness was so important to you, you would have told me how you felt. Every time I asked you how you felt about me, you would take me to bed.”

“And make love to you.” With that, Brian stood and walked out of the diner, leaving Justin to process what Brian had just said to him.


	2. Chapter 2

Sitting on the floor of his apartment, Justin looked through the few pictures that he had of himself and Brian. For a week he had been looking for something, some clue that when Brian said “make love to you” he meant it. Those words meant so much to him, and even though he knew that Brian didn’t lie, he felt like he needed proof.

Suddenly, the phone rang, rousing him from his thoughts. “Hello?” He answered.

“Hey, Princess.” Emmett’s familiar voice brought a smile to Justin’s face.

“Hey, Em.” Justin replied. There was something about Emmett, something in his demeanor that pulled Justin from any bad mood.

“Whatcha doin?” Emmett asked cutely.

“Just working on some stuff.” Justin replied, glancing down at the small pile of pictures, cursing himself for being pathetic.

“Well, get dressed. I’m taking you dancing tonight.” Justin could hear the smile in Emmett’s voice.

“Where are we going?” Justin chuckled. 

“Where else, honey? Babylon!” Emmett exclaimed. “I’m picking you up in twenty minutes!”

Before Justin could protest, Emmett hung up. Justin took one last look at the pictures and decided that it might be a good plan for him to get out and go to Babylon; he hadn’t been there since leaving Brian.

“Oh my god! What am I going to wear?” Justin hurried into his small bedroom and began pulling clothes out of the closet. Since leaving Brian, he had stopped dressing to look sexy and he knew that he needed to if he was going to Babylon. 

When Emmett arrived, Justin had just finished perfecting the messy look in his hair. “Well, well, well, doesn’t our little Princess look beautiful tonight.” Emmett leaned over and kissed Justin on the cheek. “Come on, honey, let’s go drive those boys at Babylon crazy.”

*****

“What do you want, Mikey?” Brian asked, looking around the club for someone that he hadn’t had.

“I just talked to Emmett.” Michael looked panicked. “He’s on his way here.”

“Alert the media.” Brian replied dryly.

“With Justin.” Michael finished. He saw the change in Brian’s face, the tightness that appeared only for a moment, and he felt a stab of jealousy. 

“Why is he bringing him here?” Brian asked sharply.

“I dunno.” Michael shrugged. “Wanna get a drink?”

“Mikey.” Brian ground out. “Can you please fuck off so I can find someone to fuck tonight?” Michael slunk away leaving Brian standing at the railing pretending to look for a trick, but in reality was watching for Justin.

*****

 

Justin looked down at what he was wearing having talked himself into thinking that the snug jeans and tight black tank shirt looked awful. I look like I’m trying to be Brian, he thought to himself. 

“Come on, honey. You look fabulous and there’s a whole club full of guys who can’t wait to get a look at you.” Emmett threw an arm around Justin and led him into the club.

“Hey, Justin.” Benny, the bouncer, said at the door. “Haven’t seen you here in a while.”

“Hey, Benny.” Justin slapped the bouncer on the back and followed Emmett inside. It seemed like as soon as he was inside, he and Brian locked stares. “Oh shit…”

“You alright?” Emmett asked, seeing Justin frozen in place. He followed the younger man’s line of sight and saw Brian standing at the railing. “Let’s get you a drink.”

“He’s gunna trick in front of me…” Justin thought to himself. “And there’s nothing I can do to stop the hurt.”

Later, as Justin swayed and moved to the music, he felt a touch on his lower back. As he turned to shrug off whoever it was, he saw Brian. “Bri…”

“Shh…. Don’t talk.” Brian pulled him close, inhaling his scent. “I wanna dance with you.” 

And they moved together, their bodies in sync. They touched each other and pressed their bodies together. Hundreds of eyes looked at them, watched their passionate dance. Ever since the break up, the regular patrons of the club had missed watching the sexy couple seduce each other on the dance floor. 

“What is he doing?” Michael asked as he, Emmett, and Ted watched Brian and Justin dancing, just like everyone else.

“Brian?”

“Yeah. I thought Justin was out of his life.” Michael looked a little bit pouty.

“What’s with the attitude? We all know that they still love each other.” Emmett said matter-of-factly.

“Justin cheated on him and then left him.” Michael, as always, was standing on Brian’s side and there was nothing anyone could say to change his mind. 

“They’ll always come back to each other.” Emmett sighed as he watched Brian and Justin. Their hands were all over each other. Justin had his head thrown back as Brian ran his tongue all over the younger man’s neck.

“They’re going to fuck right there.” Ted predicted with a grin. He had always wanted to see Brian and Justin fucking, he knew it would be hotter than any porn he had ever seen.

“Do you really think they will?” Michael asked. 

*****

“Let’s get out of here…” Brian whispered against Justin’s ear. He then ran his tongue over his lover’s ear. “I want to fuck you.”

“Bri….” Justin pulled away a little. “I can’t…” With that, he hurried off the dance floor and out of the club. Brian watched him exit before hurrying to follow him. When he got outside, he saw Justin resting his head against the brick wall of the building. 

“Justin.” He said quietly, regretfully. Justin turned and looked at the beautiful man in front of him. His cheeks were stained with tears and his eyes were red. 

“Please, don’t.” Justin said breathlessly. “I have to go.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the young man turned and hurried away hoping that Brian would not follow this time.

~

The next day at Chez Emmett…

“Hey, Princess?” Emmett said as he placed a cup of coffee in front of his friend. “Why’d you run away last night? Did you and Brian make up?”

“He never came back?” Justin asked, suddenly looking into Emmett’s eyes.

“No.” Emmett said. “Everyone there thought that Babylon had it’s Prince and Princess back.”

“I couldn’t do it, Em.” Justin nearly started crying. “I just couldn’t let my dick lead me right back to Brian.”

“What about your heart?” Emmett asked. Justin said nothing, just looked at his hands and started to cry.


	3. Chapter 3

Brian looked out on the crowd at Babylon. It had been over two weeks since he had danced with Justin, since any hopes he had about himself and Justin had been dashed. Everything seemed wrong in the bright flashy club.

“Hey.” A very good looking guy said pressing himself against Brian’s body. 

“Fuck off.” Brian spat. He had been saying that a lot in the time since Justin turned him down, he hadn’t had a single trick. He had to admit that he was getting tired of only having relief with his own hand, but no one seemed to compare to his golden boy.

“Asshole.” The attractive guy muttered walking away.

“Since when does Brian Kinney turn down fucking a guy like that?” Ted, in a snarky tone, asked from a few feet away.

“In your world, that guy may be hot, but I’ve had hotter and I plan to have hotter tonight.” Brian said snidely. He was, in truth, completely lying. He had no intention what so ever of taking a trick home that night.

“You planning on having Justin?” Ted was sure that he was going to set off Brian’s temper, but he couldn’t help himself.

“What. The. Fuck. Are. You. Talking. About?” Brian stared hard into Ted’s eyes.

“Well, Justin just walked in with Emmett. I figured that was why you were making yourself available.” Ted grinned as he saw an unfamiliar emotion spread from Brian’s eyes to his entire face.

The ad executive turned and sure enough, he saw Justin standing near the entrance, firmly held under Emmett’s arm. Brian couldn’t help the bout of jealousy that rose in his stomach and seemed to burn at his throat, causing a bad taste in his mouth.

“Are they fucking now?” Brian asked angrily.

“That’s my boyfriend we’re talking about.” Ted reminded Brian of his budding relationship with Emmett. The idea still made Brian want to puke, but it seemed to calm him down as well.

“Right.” Brian tuned out Ted as he watched Emmett and Justin move together through the throngs of attractive men on the lower floor. He saw Justin smiling widely at several of the men who greeted him. Again, the bad taste in his mouth appeared.

*****

“Em, I thought he wasn’t going to be here tonight!” Justin exclaimed when he saw Brian standing near the upstairs railings.

“Michael told me that he was out of town.” Emmett put his hands up in front of him in a “don’t blame me” pose.

“What am I going to do now?” Justin looked panicked.

“We’re going to dance and drink and have a good time.” Emmett wrapped his arm around Justin once more and they made their way to the dance floor, where Ted soon joined them.

“Hi, Teddy!” Emmett leaned over and kissed Ted lightly on the lips.

“Hi, you two.” Ted glanced up towards Brian. “Someone’s getting a little jealous.”

“Of what?” Justin asked with genuine confusion.

“Well, he got really pissed when Emmett had his arm around you. He still has his jaw clenched.” Ted was chuckling, thinking that the entire situation was amusing.

“Teddy!” Emmett hissed, jabbing his boyfriend in the ribs. 

Justin stood staring up at Brian as they danced until they locked eyes. As Justin moved sensually to the music, he kept his eyes on Brian’s. Emmett and Ted, seeing what was going on with the two of them, slowly drifted away from Justin leaving him to continue his mind sex with Brian.

After a few songs, Brian broke the eye contact and disappeared from the railing. Justin, disappointed, continued dancing. Moments later, he felt a body pressed against his from behind, hands with long fingers splayed on his chest.

“You’re teasing…” Brian, his voice husky with desire, murmured into his former lover’s ear.

“I’m just dancing, what are you doing?” Justin asked innocently, still moving to the music, his body still pressed firmly against Brian’s chest.

“I’m getting hard.” Brian proved what he said by grabbing Justin’s hips and pulling the younger man against his hardness.

“Wow, you sure are.” Justin smiled slyly and continued to dance, not sure why he was so at ease, when only minutes earlier he was nervous just to be in the same club as his former lover.

“You ARE teasing me.” Brian leaned forward and lightly nipped at Justin’s ear. Justin reached his hands back and grabbed Brian’s ass, pressing their bodies even closer together. “Do you know what this makes me think of?”

“Fucking me?” Justin asked, eyebrow raised.

“It makes me think of all those times that I took you in the shower, pressed against the glass.” With the words, Justin felt Brian get even harder against him. “You felt so good pressed against me, both of us wet and slippery.”

“Oh, god!” Justin exclaimed, a low moan escaping from his lips. “Now, you’re teasing me.”

“I never tease.” Brian turned Justin around and licked a line from the base of his collarbone, up the front of his throat to his lips.

“Brian…” Justin whispered, unsure of what was going to happen next, unsure as well of his own ability to be able to stop things before they went too far.

“One kiss, Justin,” Brian said as his lips descended on Justin’s, “All I need is one. For now.” Almost before the words were out of his mouth, his lips were pressed to Justin’s, their bodies plastered together from knee to neck.

As the song that was playing ended, so did the passionate kiss. Moments later, Brian pulled away and faded into the crowd… It had begun.

*****

“So then, he just left!” Justin exclaimed. He, Emmett, and Ted were sitting in the diner drinking coffee the next morning. 

“I can’t believe it.” Ted shook his head. “Brian Kinney left the club alone, with a hard on, and he didn’t even get turned down.”

“I think he’s playing me.” Justin said. Having thought about it until the morning sun splintered through the shades, Justin was sure that Brian was playing a game. What he was trying to figure out was what he had to do to win.

“What do you mean?” Emmett asked.

“He wants me to want him.” Justin said. “But I’m not sure what he’s going to do about it when he finds out that I do want him.”

“Dump you?” Ted asked, earning himself a slap from Emmett.

“No.” Justin shook his head. “That’s not how Brian thinks. If it were about hurting me, he wouldn’t have left last night. He would have gotten me excited to the point of no return, fucked me, and then kicked me out.”

“Hi, guys.” Michael said as he walked up to the table, roughly shoving Justin further into the booth as he sat down. 

“Hey Michael!” Everyone said. Emmett, Ted, and Justin all knew better than to continue their conversation, knowing that Michael would run and tell Brian all about it. They all sat and enjoyed their breakfast.

Unbeknownst to all four of them, Brian Kinney was looking in the window of the diner watching. “Just wait, Justin Taylor, this is just beginning. And when I get you back, no college boy, or anyone else, will be able to take you away from me ever again.” Brian walked away from the diner with a smile on his face, happily planning the next piece of the puzzle he was designing just for Justin.


	4. Chapter 4

“Hey, Emmett.” Brian grinned as he sat down next to Emmett at the bar at Woody’s. “How’s it going?”

“Uhhh… Hi, Brian.” A confused Emmett replied. Brian rarely spoke to him, and nearly never was he friendly. “It’s going good. And you?”

“Well, I need your help.” Brian had a big sincere smile on his face. Emmett was still confused, but somewhat intrigued.

“What exactly do you need?” Emmett asked, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. He didn’t want to seem too interested.

“Bring Justin to Babylon tomorrow night.” Brian had a glint in his eyes that Emmett couldn't seem to figure out. But the request definitely caught his attention.

“Do you want to tell me why?”

“No.” Brian said simply, a goofy grin on his face now.

“Brian, you’re scaring me.” Emmett said. “Not in a scary boo way, but in more of a scary the-apocalypse-must-be-coming way.”

“Just bring him, ok?” Brian looked almost pleading. Emmett was used to Brian’s mood swings but they were usually going from bitchy to snarky to gnarly, not from cute, to cuter, to cute-as-a-button.

“Brian, are you going to hurt him?”

“Nope. I just hope that he doesn’t hurt me.” With that, Brian was pretty sure that Emmett, being the hopeless romantic that he was, would bring Justin and everything would go off without a hitch.

*****

“Babylon?” Justin looked a little skeptical. “We were just there the other night. Besides, I’m still confused as to what happened last time.”

“Pleeeeaase?” Emmett put on his best puppy dog eyes. “It’s funner when you’re there, Princess. I love Teddy to bits, but he’s not the funnest guy to go to Babylon with.”

“I suppose.” Justin grudgingly agreed. “Do you think Brian will be there?”

“I don’t know.” Emmett, being Emmett, couldn’t lie or keep anything a secret so Justin immediately knew that something was going on.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“Well….”

“Emmett!” Justin said his friend’s name firmly.

“Last night I was at Woody’s waiting for Ted and Michael to meet me there and Brian came to talk to me…”

“And?” Justin was getting impatient.

“He asked me to bring you.” Emmett finally admitted. “I may have just ruined some sort of surprise. I don’t know. Brian was acting weird.”

“What kind of weird?” Justin asked, knowing that Brian tended to act pretty weird, in other people’s eyes anyways, just about everyday.

“Cute weird.” Emmett chuckled when Justin scrunched up his nose. “It really freaked me out actually. He was smiling a lot and acting all cute.”

“So you think he has something planned?” Justin asked skeptically.

“I know he has something planned. You have to come, Justin.” Emmett batted his eyelashes and Justin agreed to go.

“Just let me change into something more appropriate.” Justin hurried towards his bedroom, already trying to decide what to wear. By appropriate, he meant something that would make Brian crazy. After thinking about it for over a week, he had decided that Brian’s game was to see who could give in to temptation first.

*****

When Justin and Emmett arrived at Babylon, the bouncer stopped them. “Hey, Benny. Is there something wrong?” Justin asked, wanting to go inside and see what Brian had planned.

“Well…” Benny had a funny look on his face. “Someone left this for you.” Trying not to let any of the other patrons see, Benny pulled a feather rose off the ledge. Attached to it was a little note.

“Who left this?” Justin asked, sure that it wouldn’t have been Brian. Brian was too concerned about appearances to leave a feather rose and a note with the bouncer of a gay nightclub.

“I’m… uh… not supposed to say.” Benny then turned to check ID’s for some of the other men who wanted to get into the club.

“Ooh…” Emmett cooed. “This rose is beautiful. I love flowers that don’t die.” He was still “oohing” and “ahhing” as Justin pulled the little piece of note paper from the tiny envelope.

“J,

A rose by any other name…  
Sorry I missed you.

B.”

“Oh man…” Justin took a deep breath and had to sit down on the curb. “It’s from Brian.” He was trying to figure out what was going on, since his original idea was obviously not correct.

“Oh! How sweet!” Emmett looked as though he was going to cry. “Who knew that the tin man did have a heart after all!”

“What does this mean?” Justin was scratching his head. He was trying so hard to figure it out that he forgot Emmett was there. 

“Well, honey.” Emmett said interrupting the younger man’s thoughts. “I think that you and I should go get a coffee and figure out what Brian is trying to tell you.”

“Agreed.” Justin said, allowing his friend to help him up. The two of them walked arm in arm to the diner, Emmett leading the way as Justin stared at the note card and brushed his fingers over the feathers that made up the petals of the rose.

*****

Brian sat in his Jeep and watched the two walk away. He wasn’t sure whether Justin’s reaction to the flower had been good or bad. In the time that he watched him, it had only been shock. He felt like a bit of a stalker, lurking in dark corners and watching, but he knew that if he and Justin saw each other before he gave him the last “clue”, it would ruin everything.

*****

“Ok, so the other night it was about sex.” Justin was trying to work out what Brian was trying to tell him out loud, hoping that it made more sense out loud than it did in his head. “But tonight, it was so romantic, Emmett.”

“What if that’s it?” Emmett asked, the light bulb going on above his head. “What if he’s doing it in stages. Sex came first when he seduced you, then romance with the flower. There has to be more.”

“Now you’re starting to think like me. I thought I was the only one who could figure Brian out like this.” Justin was glad that he had Emmett with him.

“What else is there?” Emmett was now as into figuring out the puzzle as Justin was. “Sex, romance…”

“Love?” Justin suggested.

“No, love would have to come last. Love is the most important one.” Emmett was scratching his head. He gulped down his coffee. “I’m stuck.”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” Justin sighed. “But what if he’s done?”

“He’s not. If he was, he would have given you the rose himself.” Brian would have been amazed that Emmett had him figured out so perfectly. “I guess we’ll just have to wait.”

“Do you think this will have a happy ending?” Justin asked, looking a little sad and a little scared.

“Yes, I do. Every Princess deserves a happily ever after.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Em, it’s been three weeks and nothing!” Justin complained. “I’ve been waiting and waiting. What if he wanted me to come to him after he left the rose for me?”

“No.” Emmett confirmed. “He still has the goofy smile on his face. Needless to say, he’s starting to freak me and the boys out. It’s like he’s one of those… you know… pod people.” 

“Why hasn’t he done anything yet?” Justin was pouting now. He had been waiting and waiting for Brian to make the next move and had started questioning whether he had read Brian entirely wrong and it was his own turn to make a move.

“He will.” Emmett had been paying closure attention to Brian’s moods in the time since the rose incident. “And I think it’ll be soon.”

“Why do you think that?” Justin asked hopefully.

“He’s starting to get more and more excited.” Emmett smiled. “It has to be soon.” 

“Has he asked you about me?” 

“Nope. But I think he will. I think he knows that I’ll help him. But he also knows that I’m your friend so I think that’s why he’s waiting til the last minute to say anything.” Emmett couldn’t have been happier if he was in Justin’s shoes. The whole idea of Brian’s clues was as romantic as the old movies that always made him cry like an old queen.

“I hope it’s soon. I’m going crazy here.” Justin wasn’t sure when it had happened, but he had fallen madly in love with Brian all over again and wanted nothing more than to be back in his lover’s arms. 

*****

Brian looked down at the picture one last time. He knew that it was what he wanted to do, that he needed to do it to get Justin back, but he was terrified. The last clue, the last piece of the puzzle, was the one that would open him up. Sex could just be sex, romance could just be a ploy, but this one was the real thing.

“If this is what he needs, this is what he gets.” Brian took a deep breath and slipped the picture into the envelope.

“Excuse me?” Brian said as he walked up to a lady with her little boy. “I was wondering if I could ask a huge favor?”

“Sure.” The lady said with a smile.  
“Well, see that blond guy over there by the benches?” The woman nodded. “He’s my ex boyfriend and I’m trying to win him back, so to speak. I was wondering if there was any way the little guy could run this envelope over to him while I hide behind the tree here?”

“Uhhh..” The lady looked a little freaked out by what Brian was saying and took a moment to make up her mind.

“That probably sounded pretty scary.” Brian shook his head. “I’m terrible with the romantic stuff… which is why he dumped me in the first place. Maybe we could tie it to the dog’s collar and throw a bone at Justin or something?”

The woman laughed and shook her head. “You’re absolutely green. My son can do it.” She called her son over and gestured for Brian to hand him the letter. “Honey, this man needs your help.”

“See the blonde boy over there?” the boy nodded and Brian continued. “I need you to take him this envelope and give it to him. You can’t tell him who I am or that I’m here, ok?”

“Ok.”

“Remember, honey, don’t tell him that the person who gave the letter is here.” The woman watched as her son ran over to Justin. “You’d better hide.” Brian slipped behind the large tree.

*****

Justin was sketching when the little boy with shaggy red hair and freckles ran up to him. “I’m s’posed ta give this to ya, mister.” The little boy said handing Justin a white envelope with his name on it in script.

“Thank you.” Justin smiled. “Who gave this to ya.”

“Uh uhn.” The boy shook his head vigorously. “I’m not allowed to tell ya, my mum even said I couldn’t tell ya.”

“Ok.” Justin laughed as the boy hurried back to his mom who was sitting in front of a huge tree, watching Justin and smiling. Justin waved before ripping open the envelope. Inside, he found a picture of himself sitting on Brian’s lap at the loft. One night, when they had decided to stay in and watch a movie, Brian had set up the camera on a timer to take the picture of them. He said it would ruin his reputation to get someone else to take the picture, but that he wanted a photo of the two of them.

Justin flipped the picture over, wondering if there was any message, like there had been with the rose. He wasn’t disappointed. On the back it said: “My favorite position. You in my arms, alone in the loft.”  
Justin looked around but he didn’t see Brian or the Jeep so he pulled out his cell phone and excitedly called Emmett, he knew that he needed his fellow sleuth to help him solve this clue. What he didn’t know was that while he was busy dialing, Brian was slipping away unnoticed.

After arranging to meet Emmett at the diner, Justin ran over to the lady and her little boy. “Excuse me, but where’s the guy who gave this to you?”

“He left, mister.” The young boy said.

“Oh. Ok. Well, I just wanted to say thank you. It meant a lot to me.” Justin smiled his famous “Sunshine” smile and hurried away.

*****

“Companionship.” Ted said flatly. Emmett and Justin had been brainstorming on what the newest clue meant while Ted looked on, bored. 

“What?” Justin asked, finally looking up from the picture.

“Obviously it’s companionship. In relationships, the first thing that comes is the attraction, the sex, that’s definitely how it happened with you two.” Seeing that he had both Justin and Emmett’s attention, Ted continued. “Then there’s romance. That needed to come second. And after romance is companionship. It’s just as important as romance, if not more so.”

“Well, well, well, Mr. Relationship Guru.” Emmett nodded his head approvingly. “I think we have another super sleuth on our hands.”

“Am I going to have to wait another three weeks for the next clue?” Justin asked with frustration.

“The next one is love.” Emmett said, completely sure of himself. “Love is the most important one, and it’s the one you need to hear.”

“I waited two years already.” Justin shook his head. “I don’t think the love one’s coming.”

“He already sent you romance and companionship.” Ted reminded the younger man. 

“Yah. Those aren’t exactly common Brian things to do.” Emmett thought for a moment. “Or maybe all of these were clues pointing to an end result of love. You need sex, romance, and companionship!!”

“Watson! I think you’ve got it!” Ted put on a fake accent and he and Emmett kissed excitedly. They were all getting in on the excitement of Liberty’s new fairy tale.

“Should I go to him?” Justin asked biting his lip. Before anyone could answer, Debbie hurried out of the kitchen calling out Justin’s name.

“Justin!! Justin!! Go outside!!” She ran through the diner like a mad woman.

“What for?” Justin asked.

“I don’t know. The phone rang. I answered. The person told me to get you outside right away. Sounded a little like Brian, but I can’t be sure.” At hearing Brian’s name, Justin stood and ran out of the diner. 

There was a bunch of people standing looking up at the sky. And there it was in skywriting. “Do you get it yet?” Justin started to laugh and then he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Brian was standing on the corner, looking at him sweetly.

“So, do you?” Brian asked. 

“Yes.” Justin ran to Brian and threw his arms around him. “But I want to hear you say it too.” Brian grinned; he had been hoping Justin would ask. That morning he had stood in front of the mirror practicing how he was going to say those words.

“I love you, Justin Taylor. I love to be in bed with you, I love to dance with you, I love to see your face when I give you feather flowers, I love to have you sitting in my lap watching TV.” Brian said everything that he wanted to say and he watched as Justin’s face lit up. “Come back?”

“Only if you promise you’ll never let me leave.” Justin said, brushing a tear from the corner of his eye, smiling widely.

“Never ever again.” Brian laughed. “But don’t expect cute little sentiments every day.”

“No.” Justin teased. “Every three weeks is fine.” 

“Well, it’s about fucking time!” Debbie exclaimed, sending everyone into fits of laughter. 

“I want to kiss you. I just need one kiss.” Justin used Brian’s words from that night at Babylon. “And then I want you to take me home and make love to me.” Brian pulled Justin against him and lowered his lips to capture the younger man’s mouth. 

“I love you.” He whispered once more before pressing his lips to Justin’s. The crowd watched in awe as Brian and Justin held each other and kissed in the street.

And make love to you…Justin remembered Brian’s words from the diner that night and couldn’t wait to get back to the loft. “I love you. Now take me home.”


End file.
